A Wonderful Story
by Lady Wisiaden
Summary: A small meeting between childhood bully and victim.


**Title:** A Wonderful Story

**Author:** Lady Wisiaden

**Rating:** K

**Summary:** A small meeting between childhood bully and victim.

**Pairings:** None

**A.N. : **Hello all. It's my first fanfic in a long while and my first Hey Arnold one. I wasn't going to write fanfics, not for a long time, but I couldn't help it. And this one shot pop out of me. I'm a bit worried that they don't sound like Helga or Arnold, but I've tried. This is set when they are older, more mature…and I was trying to go for a somewhat realistic kind of piece. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Happy Readings!

* * *

He had bumped into her by accident. He was trying to decide between two cans of green bean. Should he choose this brand or that brand? In the end, he took both. She was in the aisle, brushing past, and he knocked his cart into hers. She whipped her head around to scold him, blond hair floating around her.

"Hey! Watch where you're go—"

She softened when she realized who she was yelling at.

"Arnold."

"Hello. It's been a while hasn't it, Helga?"

"Yeah," she said and smiled so brightly that he didn't know if he was alive or dead. He felt his heart thud in shock and bitterness. Arnold knew that this was the person he saw in Helga all those years from elementary school to high school. And she was showing it to the whole wide world to see. He wished that he was the one that helped her. But, he wasn't. So, he asked her out for coffee. A kind of small consolation. A kind of tiny salvation of his unrequited yearning to help the girl even though she didn't look like she needed to be helped any longer.

He sat across her from the table, giant cups of brown liquid in front of them. They talked about insignificant matters. Like where they were now, what were they doing and so on. And he learned that she was married now, a novelist (and a therapist) with two beautiful kids. And she learned that he had married with one kid on the way, an anthropology professor. He marveled and wondered at the person that Helga was now.

"You know," she said gently, "a long time ago this would have made me so happy—I thought I've die and gone to heaven."

"What? Coffee?" He joked, wondering where she was going with her words. He looked down at their cups and watched the steam spiraled up towards the sky. Helga laughed. Beautiful, he thought.

"No. If it was that simple…"

She sighed and took a sip, an appreciative gleam around her lips.

"Though this is a good cup. It's actually a lot more than that. A whole lot more."

Helga stared at him with her pretty blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I used to like you. Like you a whole lot. Loved you, in fact."

He stared back at her and thought back for a moment.

"Oh," he said.

"Oh, indeed," Helga chuckled quietly.

"So, the whole FTI thing…?"

"I took it back. You weren't interested."

A long silence filled the space before he interrupted with a quick hasty "sorry".

"Jeez, don't apologize, you dolt!"

Helga traced the rim of her half empty cup.

"It's all in the past. And you can't choose who you like. If anything, I should be apologizing! For all those insults and every single mean thing I ever did to you."

Arnold grinned at her. He didn't mind. In fact, he kind of missed some of her sharp sarcastic jabs at him.

"It's okay."

"Yeah, yeah. You're still the same you on the inside—even after all these years," Helga waved off. He watched her rummaged around her bag before pulling out a slim thin book out. It was pink.

"I have to go. Though, it was nice talking to you again. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll see you again, but…"

She hesitated.

"Well, I've always wanted to thank you. If it wasn't for you, god knows where the hell I'll be now. Throughout a good part of my life, loving you saved me…and my sanity to a certain extent. I mean, I don't love you anymore, but—you're, well, special. Anyway, this is for you."

Helga tapped the book's hard cover lightly.

"My latest novel, signed and the very first copy off the press—it's not even in the bookstore yet!"

She paused.

"And I wasn't sure—I was going to mail it, but I'm glad it's like this."

Helga handed him the book.

"Well, see you in the funny pages, Arnold."

"See you."

Arnold watched as she left. He felt strangely content. Then, he looked at the book. It was titled, Football Head. Arnold smiled. That's first love for you. A wonderful story.


End file.
